Caged
by kooksthekook
Summary: The truth was, Ulquiorra felt more caged than Orihime ever was. And she knew it. Ulquihime.


**Caged.**

**Summary**: The truth was, Ulquiorra felt more caged than Orihime ever was. And she knew it.

**Disclaimer:** Bleach doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Tite Kubo.

This is my first fic ever. I hope I kept Ulquiorra and Orihime in character. Feel free to comment constructive criticism is highly appreciated.

He entered his charge's room without any warning bringing a cart with the tray of food on it. She was sitting on her sofa looking at the small opening that let the light from Hueco Mundo's moon in. It was only a few hours ago that she had slapped him. He did not mind it in the least, it had not hurt him in the physical aspect but it was a blow to his pride.

This woman should be thankful that he does not act as rashly as the other Espada in Las Noches. If she had slapped another Espada other than him she wouldn't be alive as of this moment. Not that he would vocalize his thoughts. They weren't as important as ensuring that she eats, as per his Master's orders.

The lower ranked arrancar placed the cart inside and bowed respectfully to Ulquiorra and left the room. He did not even spare him a nod and continued to focus his eyes on the red-haired woman sitting quietly. "If you're wondering about the fate of your friends, they are still struggling to reach you" he said in his monotonous voice.

Orihime stiffened and finally snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her keeper. She couldn't utter a single word. It was like her actions a few hours ago meant nothing to him, and here she was thinking about how she would apologize. His face was impassive and emotionless as always. Ulquiorra was deathly pale, of proper height and had a controlled reiatsu. '_For my sake'_ Orihime thought, a warm feeling surging through her body.

He carried himself regally, with smooth, fluid motions that she could never hope to achieve. He was rather handsome as well, Orihime admitted. His piercing green emerald eyes looked at her unflinchingly. The only thing that she was curious about was the two green lines at that extended through his cheeks. '_They remind me of tears'_ Orihime thought. They may be the only thing that can be seen as emotion from the emotionless Espada.

Ulquiorra stared impassively at the woman who continued to gawk at him. "If you don't even have the energy to speak Woman, Eat" he commanded in his emotionless tone of voice. Orihime thought it best to follow his command and stood up to take her tray and eat her meal. It was quite delicious but she would have liked it more if she could put pickles, red bean paste or maybe mayonnaise on top of it, but knew better than to push her luck.

She noticed that he was still standing there with his hands in his pockets. "Ano…" She began. Ulquiorra looked at her. She gulped and continued, "Why are you still standing there?" she asked sheepishly. 'Great Orihime just _Great_. What a nice way to put it' Orihime thought.

"I'm here to make sure you eat your food, as per Aizen-sama's wishes." He replied and continued to watch her eat her meal. A few minutes later after she had finished her meal, she asked another question "Umm, Ulquiorra-san. Would you like to sit with me in the couch? You look stiff." Orihime fidgeted a bit in her seat, the uncomfortable silence that followed her question was simply unnerving.

He honestly couldn't understand this woman. '_A few hours ago she had slaps me after I told her my point of view regarding the fate of her friends and now she wants me to sit with her_.' Ulquiorra sighed inwardly. He was her jailer, her keeper and put bluntly caretaker, not some guest she could ask to have tea with. '_I feel like she is toying with me_' He thought. "No. Are you finished?" he asked her seeing as she had already placed the lid of the cover over her plate.

"Ulquiorra-san, what was your life here in Hueco Mundo when you weren't in Aizen's service?" she asked. This question caught him off guard but he quickly regained his composure. "Why do ask that, woman?" She shifted in her seat to get a better view of Ulquiorra's face. "Nothing much, I just wanted to know more about you Ulquiorra, that's all"

'_Why is this woman interested in my past now? She really is quite a handful, with her sudden mood swings and random questions. I don't even understand why I, the cuatro Espada, has to be the one to take care of her. Perhaps, Aizen-sama's had anticipated her friends to attempt to rescue her and placed me in charge knowing that I can protect her. No matter, Aizen-sama's orders are absolute_.' Thought Ulquiorra.

The truth was, even if he refused to acknowledge it, even if he'd rather push his thoughts about this matter to the farthest reaches of his mind, he was happy that she had asked him about his past. The only problem was that he didn't want to remember it. Or more accurately, he couldn't remember. Not that it mattered, given his current situation.

As he opened his mouth to speak, he saw Orihime light up, waiting eagerly to hear his life 'story'. A pang of guilt went through him, he would disappoint her with his answer. There were only a handful of things he could speak about with her, things that he wasn't forbidden to tell her by Aizen-sama. Thinking about it, he may have appeared to be free since he wasn't bound in chains or kept in a room all day, but between her and his situation, Ulquiorra was a prisoner more so than she could ever be. Both of them have lost their freedom but at least Orihime had friends to save her from her prison whereas he has none. Ulquiorra didn't want to admit it, to her, to anyone, especially himself.

"If it isn't obvious, I was a hollow before I became an Espada" he finally replied, his tone sarcastic and rather emotionless. "No, I mean, oh never mind." She said dejectedly, reverting back to her morose mood. Ulquiorra sighed inwardly, this human woman is really a handful.'_What must I do to keep her silent and obedient?_' he asked himself.

"What exactly do you want to know?" he prompted. Keeping her happy and jovial would make it easier for him to ensure her well-being. Orihime's face lit up as she began thinking of ways to ask her questions. "Did you have a family here in Hueco Mundo?" A question that seemed to catch the Espada off guard. "No, Hollows do not have families, they may make makeshift ones but it did not apply to me. I have no makeshift family and never did I want to have one." answering her question.

Orihime's brows furrowed in concentration as she thought of his response. 'That was a really sad existence, the closest thing he has to a family are the arrancar's and Aizen' she thought. '_Come to think of it why does he follow Aizen so obediently? Grimmjow disobeys orders often but Ulquiorra follows them to the letter. Does he feel obligated to his creator?_' Orihime perked up and looked at her captor, staring at her intensely with his emerald green eyes. For a moment, she felt herself melt.

Before her courage left her she asked her next question, "Why do you follow Aizen-sama?" she asked. " Aizen-sama created me. I serve him because he is the strongest. We submit ourselves to those who we know are stronger than us, we serve them. Aizen-sama is far stronger than I, so I serve him. Nothing more, Nothing less." He finished.

The reality of his statement hit Orihime. Hard. She had always thought that Ulquiorra served him out of love for him or out of respect for him. Wait, he does respect him, in a sense. But she had never thought that Ulquiorra had chosen to serve under him because of the simple reason that he was stronger than him. In a way, she pitied him.

She had a feeling that he did not serve him out of love at all before. His statement had only proven her assumptions before. She took another deep breath and looked at his face. Her eyes traveling from his tear marks to his hollow hole.

"What about those hollow holes? Did you choose the area where you wanted them?" Yet another question that seemed to catch him off guard. This woman was interesting. And she was on a roll.

The truth was he did not even know the answer to this question. In fact, he never bothered himself to ask this question before. Besides knowing that it was a testament to his inability to move on to the after life, he had not put a lot of time to actually ponder about this. "I do not know the answer to that question. Perhaps, this hole is the embodiment of a thing I shall never hope to understand nor to acquire" he said failing to completely erase the color in his voice. The physical representation of his inability to repress his carnal instincts, his failure to find peace with himself, the regret that he had felt before it had completely turned him Hollow.

" Which is? " Orihime asked quietly. She knew she had touched a sensitive question. Mentally cursing herself for asking such a question. " A _Heart_" He replied. The irony sinking in like a stone in a glass of water for his hollow hole was placed at exactly where his heart should be.

They fell silent for a long while, both contemplating the nature of their fate. Orihime, a woman caged in Las Noches to save her friends from a cruel fate whereas Ulquiorra, an unwilling servant to Aizen, bound to the laws of Hueco Mundo, to follow those stronger than him. They shared a few more moments of silence before Ulquiorra spoke, "If there is nothing else that you wish to ask me then I shall be back in four hours."

The door opened and an arrancar quickly went inside to take the tray, placed it on the cart and left silently. He turned ready to leave, " I'm sorry for slapping you earlier." He tilted his head slightly, getting a better view of her face. She was apologizing to him. Orihime lifted her head up and looked at him.

Her grey eyes glinting as she opened her mouth to make another statement,"Thank You, for answering my questions Ulquiorra-san.I'm sorry if I asked a personal question as well" She said, giving her best smile as well. It was an angelic smile. One he had never seen before. It wasn't fake and for the first time, noting that the smile was for him. It brought him a sense of contentment inside, of peace.

Unknowingly he smiled, barely noticeable but nevertheless he did. Catching Orihime by surprise, she had never thought that he was even capable of smiling until now. He turned away from her completely and replied, " You are Welcome" before leaving her to her thoughts. The door shut and Orihime was left to ponder the things she has learned.

Orihime could only look at the spot where her caretaker was. Reflecting upon the new revelations she had found out about him. The truth was Ulquiorra-san was more caged than she would ever be. There was no escape for him, it made her heart ache just thinking about it. Her friends were coming to rescue her as we speak, yet no one would ever come to save him from his cage. To free him.

A single tear came down her cheek as she thought of him, followed by more tears until she started to cry silently. She doubted anyone even cared about his well-being. "He always takes good care of me, he protected me from those who want to harm me, he cheers me up in his own little way when I'm sad, He even made me hope a bit when I know I shouldn't, he's the only person I actually want to see " she whispered silently to herself. A few seconds later her eyes widened as the realization hit her.

She had fallen in love with her captor, Ulquiorra Schiffer. The cold, emotionless man who may or may not even have a heart. The man who _kidnapped _her, the man who threatened to force food down her throat if she refused to eat, the man whose allegiance lay with Aizen, the man he entrusted her well being to and in his own way proved to her that he had cared for her, the kind of care that exceeded the boundaries of Aizen's order. He was a man she shouldn't even love, a man she should actually hate with a passion. And yet as she looked at him his sad eyes betrayed her common sense and all her anger and hate disappear and everything left is pity and compassion.

She tried to hate him and she had utterly failed to repress her feelings for him, falling for him hopelessly. It was unlike her feelings for Ichigo whom she had loved the longest. It wasn't some petty infatuation with Ulquiorra. It wasn't. When she was with him, she felt safe, she felt cared for, she felt different. He didn't baby her and told her the cold, harsh truth no matter how brutal it was, He wasn't so gentle with her that she felt like she was suffocating under his care but he was gentle enough. When she was with Ulquiorra she felt content, and dare she say it happy. She only hoped he felt the same way for her too.

All this thinking made Orihime exhausted and she lied down on the couch looking at the place Ulquiorra stood only a few minutes before. Wiping away her tears, she affirmed her newfound resolve. "I'll save Ulquiorra-san. I'll free him from his cage. He won't be alone any longer."And with that said, Orihime fell asleep, dreaming up ways to save him. Unknown to her just outside her door Ulquiorra was still there, listening ever so quietly. He smiled, having heard of everything she had said. He starts to walk away from her door, smile still intact. '_Save me then'_ he thought, For the truth of the matter was, he felt the same way about her as well.

.al final.


End file.
